


What are we?

by Daisy1600



Category: Grace and Frankie (TV)
Genre: Coyote is two years older than Bud, Coyote tries to make his honey happy but only ends up making himself sad, M/M, Set in s2 after Bud's horrible eight birthday party, Sibling Incest (kinda??) They're not blood related and both adopted lol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-05
Updated: 2017-10-05
Packaged: 2019-01-09 05:44:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12270075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Daisy1600/pseuds/Daisy1600
Summary: Coyote attempts to make a nice meal for Nwabudike to make up for his horrible excuse for an eight birthday party.Things don't end up going as planned.





	What are we?

Coyote had just finished cutting up all the vegetables necessary for making Gumbo to make up for Nwabudike's horrible, _horrible_ excuse for an eight birthday party, when he got lost in thought thinking about how sad and.. and let down his brother (man, he's really gotta stop referring to him as that now that they're together) looked after Grace and their mother had stormed off all dramatically, and everyone else soon shuffled out the door, returning to their respective homes. 

He got lost in thought thinking about how they cuddled close in bed that night, him whispering apologies into Bud's ear and promising to make it up to him to which Bud kissed him on the lips to quiet him, 'cause he liked to ramble a lot when he was nervous or.. well, he just liked to ramble a lot. The night had ended with Coyote holding his younger b- his.. Bud close to his chest as their breathing evened out and the elder of the two had made a promise to himself that he'd make things right. He wouldn't let their large, dysfunctional family ruin his Bud's big day. 

He'd gotten so lost in thought that he ended up burning the side of his hand on the insanely _hot_ pot when he was sliding the minced vegetables into the soup that'd had time to boil for ten or so minutes. He yelped in pain, dropping the cutting board piled high with random vegetables he'd found stuffed in the back of the fridge behind Tupperware containers full of God knows what, turning to the sink and running cold water over his angry red skin, crying out in pain as he did so. 

Why did he have to mess everything up? Why couldn't he do _one_ nice thing for the man he loved dearly, the one who helps him fight his addiction every waking second of each and every d- 

"Coyote? Babe- are you alright? What happened?" Bud said, first looking toward the steaming hot pit of.. something on the stove then his.. Coyote, who was hunched over the sink, whimpering in pain. 

"God, I'm such an idiot!" Coyote grumbled, shutting off the tap and turning to Bud who'd just entered the room, still wearing pajamas that had toothpaste stains on the front of the shirt since it was a Sunday, and they both had a day off from work. 

"Coyote.." Nwabudike's footsteps faltered and his expression dropped into one of sadness and concern. "Honey, what happened?" 

"I was- I was just trying to do a nice thing for you and- and make you a nice meal to make up for you horrible birthday party and- and I burned my hand.." he trailed off with a loud sigh, head hung low and eyes trained on the floor. 

"C'mon, babe, let me see." Bud made a grab for Coyote's injured hand that was being squeezed by his non-injured one. It took a moment for the other to register his words and look up. And when he did, he looked so sad and fragile. Like he was on an episode of Hell's Kitchen and Gordon Ramsay had just chewed him out for ruining a dish by adding salt to it. 

Bud gently eased his hand out of the other, making sure to slow his movements as to not scare him away or further irritate the inflamed appendage. "I appreciate you trying to be a good.." he trailed off, clearing his throat before continuing. "I appreciate you trying to make me feel better, Coyote, but I'm fine. I'm a big boy and I'll get past this, in time.. But it's nothing for you to fuss over and- and attempt to cook for me to make up for. I'm more than alright with just staying in bed with you till noon." 

"But I hate seeing you all sad and mopey over this whole thing. You deserve to have something nice happen to you for once." 

Nwabudike sighed releasing the other's hand to turn the stove off before placing a hand on his back to begin leading him towards the bathroom connected to their shared bedroom. 

"If you're referring to me having to 'take care of you' all the time, I don't mind. I do what I do because I love you, hon." he couldn't help but think of how difficult it is on him sometimes, watching Coyote struggle each and every day to fight his addiction. It's one reason he himself gave up drinking. He'd do anything to show how much he loves and supports his.. Coyote. Shaking his head to rid himself of the unpleasant thoughts, Bud placed his hands on the other's shoulders to gently lower him down to sit atop the closed lid of the toilet seat. 

Coyote's head hung low between his legs and he appeared to be- no, he _was_ sad. He felt like a failure, like he let down the one person who meant the most to him in this world, and Nwabudike just couldn't stand for it. 

"You're thinking loudly," he commented, rummaging around the cabinets in search of the first aid kit. He soon found that it was hidden under the sink behind a mass amount of rolls of toilet paper and grabbed it, kneeling on the floor in front of the older man to tend to his minor burn. "And I don't like what I'm hearing." 

"I let you down just like everyone else has," A tremor ran through Coyote's voice, confirming Bud's suspicions. He always was good at reading the elder. Like back when they were kids and the elder's peers at school were picking on Coyote for having a strange name and he'd march on up to him and the larger kids, telling them that if they were gonna make fun of his brother's name, they'd have to make fun of _his_ too. In hindsight, it wasn't his best idea, but at least it made the one he loves feel less alone. 

"You haven't let anyone down. You got me a delicious cake the other day. You held me at night and made me feel better when all I wanted to do was cry. You at least _attempted_ to cook for me." He paused to pull out a tube of some aloe vera ointment type stuff, uncapping it to squeeze out a generous amount to gently apply to the affected area. "Babe, you're the only person in this family I don't feel like- like ignoring for the next four years. The other day, I was minding my own business, grabbing a snack, when I heard Mom and Grace talking about old lady stuff.. stuff no man should ever have to hear about. I dropped that shit and left." 

"You left out the part about me cracking your phone's screen." Coyote mumbled, tensing up at the feeling of his burn coming into contact with Bud's fingers. The man kneeling on the floor muttered a quiet apology for causing him discomfort, then pulled out a roll of gauze, replying to his statement whilst gently wrapping his hand in the white bandaging. 

"First of all, that was Dad's fault. And second, it only cracked the screen protector, so it won't cost that much to fix up." 

"I still let something bad happen to something I borrowed from you.." 

Nwabudike let out a sigh, not at all condoning the other's self-destructive behavior. When Coyote started talking about himself in such a manner.. well, things only went downhill from there. Usually resulting in Bud having to keep a close, attentive eye on him. Not that he minded at all, it was just difficult what with work, and having to hide their most than brotherly relationship from their family. He just hopes they don't have to hide their love for twenty years like their father and Robert did.  
He held back all the things he had to say, ignored all the incessant thoughts rolling around his head like a pinball, in favor of grabbing a miniature pair of scissors out of the kit and cutting the gauze, leaving a four inch tail on each end to tie the white bandaging off into a neat little bow. 

"There," he said, holding the injured hand between both of his own and pressing a soft kiss to it. "Now stop putting yourself down. I don't like seeing you sad over things you can't change, Coyote." 

"Bud.." the other man closed his eyes, curling his hands into fists to rub at them. "I just want to make everything up to you. Tell me how I can I can make you happy." 

"Well, you can start by getting off your cute little ass and giving me a hug," he suggested, smiling when one spread across the other's face and he hesitantly got to his feet, tensing up the slightest bit when Nwabudike tippy toed the slightest bit to wrap his arms around his neck and shoulders and pull him into a warm and tight embrace. It took a moment for him to get over his shock and return the gesture, wrapping his arms around the younger's mid-section and burying his face in his pajama-clad shoulder. 

"And?" 

"Well, a kiss wouldn't hurt either." 

Coyote made a low whining sound, pulling his face away from Bud's shoulder to look him in the eyes, their noses brushing together as he did so. "God, I love you." The same smile was back on his face, only this time, it was shyer, more intimate. Nwabudike didn't have to wait long for the other man to close the distance. 

And when they finally pulled away due to lack of oxygen, the younger gave him one final peck on the nose before untangling his limbs from where they were wrapped around his neck and shoulders, threading his fingers through his un-injured hand and leading him toward the kitchen. "C'mon, hon, I'll make us breakfast." 

"What am I gonna do? Lay on the couch doing nothing while you slave over a hot stove for half an hour?" 

"I was gonna suggest you mix the pancake batter, but then I remembered what condition you hand is in, so you'll just have to be on chocolate chip duty, and try not to eat all of them before they make their way into the food." 

"I make no promises, Bud." 

They soon had all the ingredients necessary for making Bud's famous chocolate chip pancakes laid out on the island, the younger of the two trying not to feel too bad for Coyote when all he had to do was hold up a bag of chocolate chips and dump some into the batter when he was asked to. 

Breakfast was nice, but also uneventful, mostly filled with clanking of metal forks against porcelain plates as well as small talk and apologies for having Bud make his own post-birthday-make up breakfast, to which Bud cut him off with a peck on the lips and another pancake being placed atop his salmon pink plate. 

They spent the whole day together just relaxing in their pajamas at home, watching trashy reality TV together and turning down offers to hang out their friends they'd gotten via text message. It was nice, getting to be themselves, getting to kiss, hold hands and show affection towards one another since no one was around to judge them or call them out on how 'immoral' they were being even though they weren't even related by blood. Just grew up under the same roof together and we're raised by the same mother and father. 

It was when they were climbing into bed together, ready to clonk out for the night, when Coyote asked the one question they'd both been wondering and avoiding asking for months. 

"What are we?" 

Nwabudike paused his movements, still holding the sheets up with only one leg under them. "What- what do you mean?" His voice cracked and he cleared his throat, climbing the rest of the way in bed and meeting his.. Coyote in the middle. 

"You know what I'm talking about, Bud." 

He stayed silent, wondering just what they were. They weren't just brothers.. but they also weren't just casually dating or hooking up. The closest thing he could think of would be them being boyfriends, but that would be c-

"We've.. we've kinda been together for a while now and I just don't know what to call us." 

Bud snuggled up close to Coyote, laying his head against his chest with his arms wound around his middle, a sigh of content slipping past his lips when he felt the weight of an arm being slung over his shoulder. "I just- I really don't know, Coyote. What- what do you want us to be?" 

"I, um.. I don't know.." Coyote trailed off, now sounding nervous and unsure of himself. Which, sadly, wasn't uncommon. "What- what do _you_ want us to be?" 

"Closest thing I can think of is boyfriends, but it sounds a bit impersonal." 

"It's the same issue Dad and Robert had, isn't it?" 

"Yeah, only they were actually open to the public about their relationship. You and I, we're not even allowed to tell people about us without them.. I don't know? Insulting us and calling us bad words?.." 

"Doesn't sound so bad when you put it that way, Bud." Coyote chuckled half-heartedly, pressing a kiss to the top of the other's head. "But seriously, what are we? Brothers?Partners? Boyfriends?.." 

"Well, I'd say you're more my lover than my brother, but I'll let that one slide since it's-" he lifted his head to check their alarm clock. "two in the morning and we both have to get up for work in about four hours." 

"So, you're saying we're lovers?.." 

"Are _you_ saying that?" Nwabudike retorted, holding his breath in anticipation. 

"Well, let's see.. We live together, we share a bed every night, we kinda have sex three to five times a week, and... and we- we love each other a lot. You do still love me, right?" There's the Coyote Nwabudike knows and loves. The one who's insanely insecure in himself and their relationship. 

"Of course I still love you, honey. My feelings haven't somehow magically changed in the last ten hours." Bud gave him a little a squeeze, relishing the relieved sigh it pulled from him. But it also saddened him to know how.. how Coyote could think he'd ever stop loving him. He hadn't known it at the time, but he'd always loved his older brother. Ever since he was old enough to talk and have to go to school every morning, he loved Coyote.

"Oh, good. I was worried there for a second that you.. never mind." Coyote breathed shakily, moving his bandaged hand to rest atop Bud's that rested atop his stomach. 

"That I what? Stopped loving you unconditionally? Coyote.. I may not have had the balls to say it until fairly recently, but I love you so much. More than I can put into words." 

"I love you too, Bud." Coyote whispered, sounding just a little bit choked up. "So much." 

Nwabudike knew just how genuine and open Coyote was being with him. He knew how much it meant to the man holding him close that he stopped drinking, stopped going out to bars with co-workers, and didn't keep any sort of alcoholic beverages or drugs of any kind in their home. Hell, he didn't even keep painkillers out in the open. He kept them locked away somewhere safe where he'd be the only one able to access them, and only ever took one if he had a raging headache or they had a guest over who did. 

"I love you, you love me.. How about we go ahead and make things official, huh?" 

"Boyfriends?" 

"Boyfriends." 

Nwabudike could feel the low rumble traveling through his boyfriend's chest and into him. He was laughing, the sound sweet and slightly disbelieving to his fine-tuned ears. In time he'd get him to see and truly believe how much he cared about and loved him dearly. But for now, all he could do was chuckle himself, and adjust the sheets covering their pajama-clad bodies to keep them warm as they snuggled closer together in the cold December air that seemed to seep in through the closed windows and beneath the doors to try and give their toes frostbite.


End file.
